Chapter 165: Umbra
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: Umbra
“Wake up.”
Half a beat before the alarm was set to go off, Abbey’s eyes shot open instinctively. She sat up in a single motion, threw back the plush covers, and turned off the alarm clock before it could ring.
Waking up before the alarm—a skill only those who have spent a lifetime rising on time can master.
Abbey had already reached that state.
“Condition: good. No signs of fatigue.”
Despite going to bed relatively late last night, her body felt exceptionally refreshed. Had she been exhausted by injury and fatigue, it might have been different, but for Abbey, who went to sleep and woke at the same time every day, a little lack of sleep was no issue.
“…”
Of course, to claim her diligence was solely responsible for maintaining her condition would be to ignore the influence of her environment.
The cozy blankets and warm room, the dry yet fresh scent of sun-dried linens. The cleanly laundered clothes and the kettle that was always simmering.
Everything in this room seemed to gently envelop her. Though unaccustomed to this strange comfort, she would often find herself enveloped in it before she knew it.
Glancing around the room, Abbey’s eyes fell on him, asleep on the sofa. He was sleeping in the most comfortable-looking position imaginable, showing no intention of waking up on his own.
“Time to get…”
Abbey stopped herself just as she was about to wake him.
Last night, he had disappeared for a while, only to return with a doctor. Thanks to him, Anna received proper treatment and was now recuperating in her own residence.
He had even found someone to nurse Anna, allowing Abbey to sleep with a much lighter heart.
He must have been just as busy as she was last night, if not more so.
“…Sleep well.”
Instead of touching his shoulder, Abbey pulled the blanket up to it. He shifted, smacking his lips like a baby. A gentle smile graced her lips at the sight.
Besides, she had her own duties to attend to. There was no need to wake him.
“I’ll be back.”
After changing into her uniform, Abbey put on her cap and left the room.
Perhaps because it wasn't yet time for the morning commute, the streets, where the sun had not fully risen, were much quieter than yesterday. Having left early, Abbey walked through the deserted streets in her uniform.
Her destination was District 10. It was too far to walk.
As she headed toward the main road to hail an automaton carriage, her eyes caught the hallway-style apartment building she had seen yesterday. The door the two young men had been pounding on was wide open today.
Did they manage to wake up on time today? Abbey wondered.
Just then… the same two young men from yesterday morning emerged from that very door. Their expressions were incredibly somber and sorrowful.
Those who learned Synchronization Magic possessed an excessive sense of empathy. Abbey’s chest tightened for a moment. She instinctively drew closer to listen in.
“Phillip… that son of a bitch. If he was going to go, he could’ve at least said something… To think he insisted on treating us…”
The first young man to emerge muttered, covering his face with his hands. The other, following behind him, asked cautiously.
“…What are we going to do? If we don’t pay, Phillip—no, Phillip’s body—is headed for the incinerator.”
“…Dammit. We’d have to save a week’s worth of wages just to hold a makeshift funeral. What are we supposed to eat in the meantime? It can’t be helped. It’s his own damn fate.”
People often get angry to avoid their guilt. The young man snapped, his anger directed at no one in particular, and stormed away from the building. The other youth scurried after him.
In their wake, only the wide-open door remained, a desolate presence. The dark interior looked even colder than it had yesterday when it was firmly shut.
Abbey couldn’t tear her eyes from the door until the automaton carriage driver finally worked up the courage to hurry her along.
‘The Shelter.’ It was an organization Abbey knew well.
The Military State had countless soldiers, and just as many veterans. Among them were many who had served since the days of the kingdom, only to be discharged due to injury or old age.
As former soldiers, their bodies were robust. They had money to spare, were filled with the pride of having toppled a kingdom, and their experience in organizations made it easy for them to form new ones.
Thus, The Shelter was born, a group formed by these veterans. It took on the role of a neighborhood watch of sorts, while also acting as a charity that protected and aided orphans.
“…I must ask for your understanding in my inability to state my name and rank. I am currently on a classified operation.”
District 10. The headquarters of The Shelter, located on the border between the city center and the back alleys.
Frontaine, a former Major General of the Military State and the current director of The Shelter, replied, his eye twitching.
“Right. That’s the rule. Even though I’m a former Major General, I can’t demand an active-duty soldier to state their name and rank.”
“Correct. Furthermore, as you are a former soldier but also a civilian, you are obligated to cooperate with me. I request your full cooperation.”
The bodies of Qi practitioners were stronger than those of ordinary people, but they couldn't escape the drain of aging. It was both a duty and a virtue for even the highest-ranking soldiers to retire when they grew too old to fight at full strength.
Frontaine, a soldier since the days of the old kingdom, was one such case.
His wrinkled eyes narrowed further.
“Hah? Look here, Captain. I was a Major General. And you’re talking about ‘cooperation’? Hah! Not even a field officer, just a company-grade one… What’s your unit?”
“That is classified. Furthermore, regulations do not require me to answer you.”
“Hah! Everything is ‘classified’ or ‘regulations’ with you people. A soldier should act with more confidence!”
“I am confident. Furthermore, that statement has no bearing on the current situation.”
Frontaine just snorted at Abbey’s words and sneered.
“Still, you know to be scared of me, hiding your affiliation, eh? I bet you do. Two of the current generals were my own protégés! You think you’re something special, just a mere captain? One word from me, and you could end your military career as a captain!”
It was a childish but potentially fatal threat to an officer desperate for promotion.
However, it didn’t apply to Abbey. A Signaller’s identity was a secret that would never be revealed, and in the first place, Abbey’s ambition wasn’t promotion, but simply survival.
“Query. Are you currently asking for preferential treatment based on your former rank?”
When Abbey asked without a hint of wavering, Frontaine flinched and mumbled, his bravado deflating.
“…Ahem. Well, not exactly.”
“If you are unwilling to cooperate, please say so. I will confirm that fact and seek other means.”
“When did I say I wouldn’t cooperate! I was just pointing out your stiff attitude!”
Of course, anyone with a little knowledge of how the Military State operated would know Frontaine’s threat was empty. The State was not a nation lenient enough to allow for such preferential treatment.
Frontaine cleared his throat loudly and asked, his face even more displeased.
“Alright, Captain. What is it you want to know?”
“I am investigating a series of incidents occurring in District 10 of the Military State. Do you have any information regarding the ‘Shadow of the Military State’?”
The old soldier’s expression was peculiar. It was a complex look that seemed to say, So you’re finally taking an interest, or perhaps, I didn’t think you’d be interested in this sort of thing.
“Hah. So the authorities are finally starting to pay attention to the back alleys? Then why not just bring in the Military Police and turn the place upside down? That would be more effective.”
It wasn’t the Military State that was interested. This was, for all intents and purposes, Abbey’s personal investigation.
However, as a Signaller, Abbey could deliver information directly. It was a power only a Signaller possessed, and one that had to be used with caution.
Of course, she couldn’t tell him that.
“That is classified.”
“Hah. I’m sure it is. Can’t tell an old fossil like me anything, can you!”
As if to assert that a snort was a form of laughter, Frontaine’s was filled with a sense of futility.
“I’ll tell you. Captain, do you know what they call themselves?”
“The Shadow of the Military State.”
“Good. Then do you happen to know where they got that name?”
Abbey recalled the information in her head and answered after a slight pause.
“The Shadow of the Kingdom, is it not?”
“Precisely. No, you must have expected it from the start.”
Frontaine’s eyes lifted slightly as he studied Abbey. She nodded in affirmation.
She was a Signaller, a special type of soldier who handled and memorized all sorts of information. She couldn’t say it was classified, but it was inevitable that she knew more than a retired Major General.
She had come to ask only because she needed confirmation.
“Your thoughts are likely correct. Their methods are similar.”
The old veteran didn’t bother to save time. He began his explanation, even knowing that Abbey was already aware of the information.
“Long ago, in the kingdom, there was an organization that called itself the ‘Shadow of the Kingdom.’ They were a pack of hyenas who cleaned up the messes of those bastards who strutted around calling themselves knights. Murder, plunder, extortion… things knights couldn’t do openly. They were a kind of clean-up crew that handled such tasks. They were infamous among civilians and soldiers alike.”
After Sunderspear and the rebels brought down the kingdom, the Shadow of the Kingdom was naturally exposed. It was only logical that the Military State would round up such an evil of the old regime.
“The leader of that organization, ‘Umbra’ Wolfen. I am certain that he, who was imprisoned in Tantalus for a long time, has returned.”
Just as I thought.
Abbey nodded gravely.
Wolfen Fenshtein. The Umbra who once led the Shadow of the Kingdom.
The deepest darkness among the vile parts of the old kingdom.
Imprisoned deep within Tantalus, he had escaped during the recent jailbreak and returned to his old stomping grounds.
A city that was once the capital of the old kingdom, a city that desecrated it by burying it under concrete.
The most populated land in the Military State.
Amitengrad.
“The Military State imprisoned him in Tantalus instead of killing him. Tsk, they should have just killed him. Why bother locking him up…”
Abbey knew the reason, and that information wasn’t classified. She stated it clearly.
“As the ‘Umbra,’ he had a magical procedure performed on his heart. The moment his heart stops, the ‘Penumbras’ stationed throughout the Military State would simultaneously incite riots. Therefore, the Military State decided to simply imprison him in Tantalus rather than kill him.”
Frontaine’s eyes widened at the information that flowed so smoothly from her.
“What the. You know a lot. If you know everything, why did you come to ask me?”
“That is classified.”
“Hah. Such nerve… Do today’s officers have no respect?”
Even before a former general, Abbey showed no fear or hesitation. She was simply adhering to principles and her convictions.
Frontaine clicked his tongue, clearly displeased with her attitude.
“What is the true objective of the Shadow of the Military State?”
“What do you think it is?”
Abbey closed her eyes for a moment to organize the information.
Indiscriminate robbery. Movements to attack even officers of the Military State, and organized crime.
They were outlaws who selectively committed acts that should never be done if one didn't want to summon the Military Police.
Therefore, the objective was clear. Abbey answered.
“Summoning the Military Police. I believe that is the objective itself.”
“…You’ve got guts and brains. Just no manners…? A true soldier, indeed. A true soldier.”
Frontaine nodded after a thoroughly sarcastic remark.
“Correct. They’re trying to lure the Military Police here to clean out the back alleys once and for all! There’s no other explanation.”
“Query. One, why would they summon the Military Police? It’s not as if the Military Police would turn a blind eye to them.”
“How should I know? Maybe they have a connection with the higher-ups in the Military State. In any case, it’s certain they’re planning a clean-up. The severity of their crimes is escalating by the day. At this rate, they’ll be attacking an officer somewhere.”
Abbey agreed with that. After all, she herself had nearly been a victim.
“Agreed. I was also attacked.”
“You were attacked? You?”
Frontaine’s eyes shot open, and he anxiously fidgeted with something in his hand.
It was only then that Abbey noticed the object in Frontaine’s hand was a small cross.
“Then their preparations must be nearly complete. Oh no, so soon… Don’t tell me it’s gone that far…”
Growing extremely agitated, Frontaine’s complexion changed, and he spoke in a deferential tone.
“Captain. I have a favor to ask.”